Suggestions

Example: Two allied Elementalists in close range of each other use a Meteor Shower in the same area. While one is casting, the other begins casting. Due to both Elementalists casting Meteor Shower, they both have a clickable 'merge' icon (placed in a random screen position) while casting, to combine both Meteor Showers into a single stronger Meteor Shower with a different effect. If the first Elementalist finishes casting before they both click 'merge', the icon dissapears and the Meteor Showers are cast seperately. If they both choose to merge in time, the first Elementalist is immobilised in a 'charged up' state until the other Elementalist has finished casting.

Pet interaction

When a character is standing still, having pet AI that moves back and forth randomly looks worse than not moving at all. It would look far better to program the pet to have an interactive animation with the character when they are still for a few seconds outside of combat. Perhaps the pet runs up to its owner, and the owner kneels down to pat it, then the pet lays to rest at its owners feet. Not only does it look better and make a pet feel like more than a minion, it also allows the pet to heel naturally without getting in the way, while putting itself into an appropriate position to attack.

Guild webspace

Charge a small fee (eg $10) to host a Guild's website, complete with a forum that can be accessed from the game itself to enable a functional method of Guild recruitment. The benefit and neccessity of this is obvious. Everyone wins. You can even organise an in-game voice chat channel for this, without any risk to net profits.

Prison

Online games are plagued by trolling, griefing, scamming and other forms of destructive behavior that can seriously affect the wellbeing of everyone involved, and the games themselves often encourage this kind of behavior in a variety of ways. While community managers typically downplay the extent of the problem or turn a blind eye, it is a plague that will continue to grow and destroy game after game, community after community. This is the number one reason why players leave a game, and news of a bad community goes far. The only solution is for community managers and developers of online games to take charge of their responsibility to their communities and actively set an example for others to follow. An example of this is to have a prison system. As a deterrant and an encouragement to learn their lesson and be a better person, allow a banned/marked player to log into a prison, where they are given a series of tasks that show them consequences and why their behavior is wrong, allowing their character an option to redeem themselves and lesson their time in prison. Giving players the tools of harm and taking a position of 'do as you will, but if you do that, you get a ban' doesn't cut it by a long shot. While major community websites paint a profit driven picture of pretty rainbows and sunshine, the reality of it is that the Guild Wars community is largely seen by players as degenerated beyond belief. In an industry plagued by apathy, what's left of the playerbase is looking towards Guild Wars 2 to raise the bar, not just in terms of game quality but more importantly in terms of community. A game community is only as good as the standards its creaters actively set.

Knock down, interrupt, slow down, shut down

I can understand the legitimacy of these mechanics in certain situations, but your philosophy on this couldn't be more misguided. Such mechanics often function as an anti-competitive cheap shot that gives bad players an unfair advantage by behaving in a dishonorable manner. It encourages trolling and griefing, while discouraging players to learn and improve. These mechanics should come at a higher difficulty, a penalty for doing it wrong, a reward for doing it right, and a reasonable option for the target to avoid or work around it. In the case of Guild Wars, there is little to no penalty involved, and hence you have cultivated a community of incompetent trolls and griefers. You need to reward higher standards of play, while punishing lower standards of play, not vice versa. You need to encourage bad players and give them an open door to improve, not a cheap shot alternative to even the odds. Until you re-evaluate your philosophies on this and see things as they really are, you will continue to cultivate a degenerate community as proven in Guild Wars.

Last edited by Terran on Wed Nov 02, 2011 3:31 pm; edited 4 times in total